Page 26 of Finding Romance (Romances in the Building #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Kasen

“Kasen, can you have the firewall sorted by Tuesday?” my boss asks. This is the fourth project he’s offered me this week, and like a dumbass, I’ve agreed to take it on. I know he’s down employees and I was gone for a while, but I’ve about reached my limit.

“Colden, that’s going to be a tight timeline. Do they need it by Tuesday?” I question as I look at the progress of my other three projects.

“Unfortunately they do. You’re my best at this. I know I’ve loaded you with work this week, but business is booming,” Colden explains.

Sighing, I rub a hand over my face. I’m going to need to triple my caffeine intake and I will probably need to miss one of my gym sessions. I grimace at what else I’ll be missing. Maybe I can get Piper to come sleep here? Then at least I can help her practice.

Practice . Who am I kidding? I don’t know what changed out at the lake house, but something is different. I know Piper’s leaving in less than a week, but I just can’t accept that. Can I?

“Dude, you still there?” Colden says.

“Yeah, I’ll do my best,” I say and immediately regret it.

“Thanks, I appreciate this. I’ll double your bonus if you get it done on time,” he adds.

“Yeah, yeah. I gotta go,” I say as I disconnect. I really need more coffee before I dive into this. I finish up one test on my coding I worked on all morning and then I head over to get coffee.

It’s nice outside as I cross over to the café. A small part of me wishes I could work outside but my secure setup doesn’t allow that.

“Kasen, you OK?” Cam asks after I order my usual.

“I’m fine. Just swamped,” I explain.

“OK. Remember to hydrate,” Cam scolds as she hands me water and a coffee.

I nod and hurry back to my office. Putting on the headphones, I get down to work on the assignment. Somehow, I lose track of time. I realize the day has passed when my only light is coming from the one on my desk.

Rubbing my eyes, I pull off my headphones and decide to order takeout.

It’s late but the moon is bright as I walk down the street to Joe’s Tavern, a local hangout.

I order a burger and fries and then sit outside and wait.

I have so much to do that even taking an hour off seems stressful. My mind drifts to Piper.

What would dating her for real be like? She’d want to eat dinner with me, probably. And date nights and movie nights and a lot of sex.

I frown. I don’t have room in my life for Piper. Sure, we’d be all over each other for a few weeks, but then what?

I’d be busy with work. She’d be trying to figure out life. I’m more settled and she’s starting out. She’d want all the attention she deserves, and I can’t give her that all the time.

“Kasen?” the hostess's voice rings out from the door. I turn and she hands me my dinner in a box.

“Thanks,” I mutter and head home. If I wasn’t feeling bogged down before, I am now.

I eat in silence in my apartment, still trying to figure out a way that it could work with Piper, but by my last fry, I know there’s no hope for us.

We are too different and I am too busy and emotionally fucked up to give her what she needs.

I wish she was leaving today. I could rip off the bandage and just get on with life.

But even as I think that, I find myself thinking, “It could work! You could be happy!”

I’m too afraid to believe those words, but they are there, brewing alongside thoughts of being too old and too busy.

* * *

“How’s Piper?” Al asks as he stands by the coffee machine, waiting for Cam to make his drink.

“She’s fine, I guess. I’ve only texted her this week. I’m swamped at work,” I explain.

“Oh? Well, you should take a night off. I was going to throw her a little going-away party later since she’ll miss happy hour on Thursday. I didn’t see you check in on the group chat, so make sure to check your text messages later,” Al says. He’s right. I haven’t looked at my phone in hours.

I swallow a lump in my throat. I’ve been putting off thinking about Piper leaving.

I know she booked a plane ticket from here directly to Seattle.

Part of me thinks this is for the best. A clean break before I get too attached and likely ruin things between us.

Another part of me is screaming to stop her from leaving, but I push that thought back deep into the recesses of my brain.

Deciding to switch topics, I turn back to Cam. “Any word on you buying this place?” I ask.

She smiles and nods. “I met with Phyllis, the owner, and we have an agreement on a transition plan, and yesterday,” she says, then turns to Al and says, “Drum roll, please.”

Al gives a drum roll.

“I got approved for my small business loan!” she says excitedly as she claps her hands. “I was going to tell everyone at happy hour, but who am I kidding. I’m way too excited to keep that shit to myself.”

“Wow! That’s great news!” Al says.

“Congratulations. That’s wonderful news,” I add.

“Thank you both. Prepare to taste test a ton of baked goods and new coffees! Drew and I have been spending every night coming up with ideas,” she says with a grin.

“Well”—Al pats his stomach—“we all know I’m an excellent taste tester.”

Cam giggles and hands Al his drink and then hands me mine. “Don’t forget the water,” she calls out after me as she passes me a bottled water. Something she’s now begun to do with every coffee purchase I make.

Al motions to the water as we exit. “What’s up with the added hydration?” he asks.

I groan. “I’ve been having to double up with caffeine lately.

Work has been crazy busy. I’m debating whether or not I’ll even have time to be on-site for the project that I’ve been wrapping up.

I was going to fly over to Berlin and meet with the team in person, but I don’t think I’ll be able to make it work.

I need my setup here to complete the other projects. ”

Al pats my back. “Kasen, you need a break, my friend. You work too hard all the time. I know you love your work but maybe take a few days off. There’s a whole world out here.

” He pauses and points to the park. “Piper has an uncanny ability to see the world through a different lens. She’s brought life back to our greenhouse and I just commissioned her to finish a set of lily pad and frog paintings for me. ”

“You did?” I ask.

He nods. “Her artwork is phenomenal. Edith would love it,” he says sadly.

Now it’s me who pats him on the back. Just like everyone in the building, we all miss his wife.

She was like the grandmother figure and wise friend that everyone needed.

“My poker friend’s wife owns an art gallery, I’m trying to see if she’ll show some of Piper’s art. ”

My heart lurches at the thought of her having her art in a local gallery. Would she move here? I quickly squash that idea. I need to stop trying to keep Piper as mine. She deserves someone who isn’t so mentally messed up.

“That’s great,” I reply, attempting to sound enthusiastic.

Al turns to me as we reach the door to the building.

“Kasen, let me give you a little advice. I know there’s some song about a man being a rock or an island or something, but you are not an island.

I know your life has had its challenges, but don’t block people because of that.

Do I miss Edith? Yes, every damn day. Would I give up the years I had with her because of how sad I have been since she died?

Hell no. I’m thankful for every minute I had with her.

She made me better and she made my life better.

Consider that,” he says as he lets go of my arm that he’s grabbed.

He motions toward the park and I see Piper painting in her usual spot on the bench.

I nod, unable to answer because of the swell of emotion rising in my throat.

“Good.” He tips his hat and walks inside, leaving me standing there staring at Piper as she paints.

She has on headphones and the protector in me is mad at her for not paying attention to her surroundings.

I walk toward her without thought, as if we’re magnets that are trying to connect.

I feel lighter the closer I get to her. She’s like a planet of happiness and I’m getting sucked into her gravitational pull.

I’m surprised when she looks up at me before I’ve even gotten within two feet of her.

She smiles and pulls off her headphones. “Hey,” she says cheerfully.

“Hey,” I reply. I nod toward the painting she’s working on. “Looks good.”

“Sort of. I want to try a new technique on the flowers. I’m just debating if I’ll do it on this one or start another,” she says with a frown as she sizes up her work.

Al didn’t say if he’d told her yet about the art gallery, so I don’t say anything.

I just stand there, looking at her painting.

It’s calming. A brief thought of her in my grandmother’s den flashes before me.

There’s a big picture window there that looks out over the mountains and the sunrise. She’d love it.

Her phone pings and she reads a message. She looks up and sees me trying to read over her shoulder.

“It’s my dad. We’re trying to work out how I’ll get out to his house. He has a meeting,” she says with a sigh and then shrugs. “It’ll be nice to see him. We don’t spend much time together.”

I decide right at that moment that I need to let her go.

She needs to find her own way to her dreams. She’s still so young.

I’m nearly ten years older than her. I’ve lived a thousand different lives since I was her age.

It’s strange to think of the age gap between us.

She doesn’t seem like a twenty-three-year-old.

After I make that decision, I also decide to take her on one final practice date. A goodbye date.